Despite evidence supporting the importance of school climate, little is known about how practitioners understand and use data from climate surveys to guide schoolwide improvement. The expanded use of school climate surveys underscores the importance of understanding how schools and districts are utilizing this evidence both to drive improvement…

As required in 105 ILCS 5/2-3.47a, the Illinois State Board of Education shall develop and maintain a continuing comprehensive strategic plan for elementary and secondary education. The 2020-2023 Strategic Plan consists of goals for equity, student learning, learning conditions, and elevating educators. The Strategic Plan leverages the wide range…

In June 2020, the Wisconsin Policy Forum published "A Teacher Who Looks Like Me: Examining Racial Diversity in Wisconsin's Teacher Workforce and the Student-to-Teacher Pipeline." The impetus for that research was both the long-standing racial disparities in educational outcomes that have persisted in Wisconsin for decades and a growing…

A number of studies have examined the impact of school accountability policies, including No Child Left Behind (NCLB), on student achievement. However, there is relatively little evidence on how school accountability reforms and NCLB, in particular, have influenced education policies and practices. This study examines the effects of NCLB on…

This policy profile on education in Mexico is part of the "Education Policy Outlook" series, which presents comparative analysis of education policies and reforms across the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Building on the OECD's substantial comparative and sectoral knowledge base, the series…

Evaluation capacity building, or ECB, is an area of great interest within the field of evaluation as well as in Extension evaluation. Internal Extension evaluators have long offered training and technical assistance to help Extension educators conduct evaluation. Today ECB in Extension encompasses myriad activities and processes to advance…

The following obstacles to education reform are the most significant: (1) the system does not reward risk-taking; (2) the system resists oversight; (3) it is not accountable for failure; (4) too few resources are spent in the classroom; and (5) consumers of education are no match for the system. Old-fashioned bureaucratic monopolies continue to…

In this article, the authors review the way in which the Victorian government has responded to the inclusion of students with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream schools, and consider what further efforts could be made to improve inclusive educational practices. Key measures introduced by the state education authority in relation to the…

The current interest in governmental assessment and accountability practices appears to result from:(1) an emerging view of higher education as an "industry"; (2) concerns about efficient resource allocation; (3) a lack of trust ade between government institutional officials; (4) a desire to reduce uncertainty in government/higher education…

Educational change depends on the development of total school system readiness. An analysis of the school evaluation process is the purpose of this report. Essential steps to determine school readiness for restructuring include the assessment, profiling, and integration of interrelated system components, which include focus and support factors.…

This guide presents some of the best thinking about the difficult and puzzling work of improving student achievement. Taken as whole, it gives a complete picture of what it will take to close the achievement gap. It contains background, findings, and key policy recommendations from a 22-month study conducted by the Washington State School…

This report provides teachers' views of unequal teaching and learning opportunities that are still common in many of America's public schools. It analyzes the responses of 3,336 public school teachers in California, Wisconsin, and New York who were surveyed by Lou Harris and the Peter Harris Research Group. The findings paint a chilling picture of…